Page 5 of Last Love

Presley

Discussion Topic 1: The Relationship Revolution

In utter disbelief, I rest my elbow on my desk, flop my face in the palm of my hand, and rub my temple to soothe the steadily increasing throb. “How is this effing possible?”

“Ma’am-”

“Oh, eff that,” I frustratedly bite into the phone. “Please, for the love of mac and cheese, do not effing ma’am me again.”

“There’s no need to curse-”

“No one’s cursing.” My swift snap is followed by the shutting of my eyes. “Do I wanna curse? Yes. Am I capable of cursing? Absolutely. Has a single curse word been said? No.”

The male chooses not to rebut, which is a wise decision.

“Now,” I irritatedly grouse, fighting the urge to take this call on the go to the cafeteria where I know our head chef, Andrii Allen, has leftover freshly baked blueberry scones just sitting out for the employee taking, “I do not want another excuse. I want an actual answer because this ‘ish is ridiculous.”

“Ma’am-”

“What did I say about calling me ma’am?”

“Mrs. Morrison-”

“Miss Morrison.”

“My apologies,” the nervous voice on the other end swiftly states, “Miss Morrison I understand your frustrations, but there’s nothing I can do. These were unforeseen circumstances-”

“This is the third delay!”

“Again, I understand your frustrations,” the man poorly comforts.

I don’t think he does.

Or if he does, I don’t think he fucking cares.

He’s just reading lines from a stale script.

Would it kill him to use a little improv to make it feel more personal?

“However, per policy, we cannot move a tenant into a residence without it being properly signed off by the inspection board. You will be available to move into your new home next weekend.”

“Okay, but I already have the movers booked for this weekend-”

“We understand this isn’t an ideal situation nor is the continual delay up to our personal company standards. For this reoccurring inconvenience, we are willing to financially compensate you by reducing your first month’s rent.”

Inconvenience?

Talk about one word that seems to be able to define my entire existence now.

Determination to take back more control over my spiraling life, I surprise myself by biting back, “No.”

“I’m sorry…no?”

“No.” Straightening my spine is done at the same time I put my metaphorical foot down. “You or your supervisors have two choices at this point. You can either compensate me three months rent, one for each delay I’ve had to deal with, courtesy of ‘unexpected circumstances’ and keep me as a renter or – and I hope you’re buckled up for this one because it’s about to get bumpy – you can cancel my renter’s agreement altogether and prepare yourselves to deal with a lawsuit for breach of contract and questionable business practices, which would absolutely upset the HOA you’ve already taken fees from me to please as they don’t particularly like renters in their gated community as opposed to homeowners.”

Which I am so not prepared for.

I mean…moneywise?

Oh yeah.

My business has yielded and currently yields enough income to put me in a house that could be quite incredible.

Emotionally…?

No.

That would be running and I’m still in the crawling phase.

Renting a bougie townhome is a good step towards figuring out just who the hell I am and where the hell I am in my life.

The extended stretch of silence indicates I have the man on the other end of the phone rattled, something that has me victoriously smiling. “Your request for compensation will require approval by my supervisor; however, you can expect an updated lease agreement with the prorated amount in your inbox within three to five business days.”

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